Executing push-ups is a well-known healthful exercise for developing and maintaining a strong upper body and general cardiovascular fitness. To execute a push-up, a person faces the ground in a prone position and supports himself or herself on the toes and hands, with the spacing between the hands being variably established as appropriate for focussing the exercise on a particular muscle group. For example, placing the hands relatively close together focusses the exercise on the triceps, whereas placing the hands relatively far apart focusses the exercise on the shoulders. The person then alternatingly pushes up and lowers himself or herself relative to the ground, all the while supporting himself or herself on the toes and hands only.
While it is beneficial to perform push-ups on the ground, the present invention recognizes that it is difficult and unpleasant to perform push-ups on uneven, rough, or gravelly ground. More specifically, a person can abrade, cut, and otherwise injure his or her hands when performing push-ups on rough ground. Furthermore, as recognized herein a person's hands can slip apart and cause the person to fall face down when the person performs push-ups on wet ground, such as wet grass, again potentially causing injury. Indeed, hand slippage can undesirably occur on any surface, particularly when the person places his or her hands relatively far apart. The present invention recognizes, however, that it is possible to provide a device for promoting and facilitating safe, efficient execution of push-ups without undue risk.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device for facilitating push-ups. Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for facilitating push-ups which permits variable spacing between the hands. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for facilitating push-ups that is configured for optimal hand placement on hand holds on the device during push-ups. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a device for facilitating push-ups that is easy to use and cost-effective.